Right to Disconnect. Help or Hindrance for Organisations?

Would giving employees the legal right to completely disconnect from work during non-working hours be a help or hindrance to businesses?

‘Right to disconnect’ laws are nothing new; emerging from France and implemented in countries such as Italy, Slovakia, Canada and The Philippines, these bills and laws give employees the right to disconnect from work and not engage with work-related communications during non-working hours.

The term is yet undefined in the UK; current legislation includes the Working Time Regulations 1998, which introduced statutory limits around working times and breaks, but there are no concrete laws in place to prohibit employers from contacting employees outside of non-working hours.

However, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner, has said she will introduce a ‘right to switch off’ if Labour wins at the next general election.

That is certainly music to the ears of frustrated and burnt-out employees, but how would it impact managers, leaders and the C-suite? Would such a law harm UK business? According to a poll on Management Today’s website, 70% of its readers believe that a “right to disconnect” would be a positive move for businesses.

But what do other CEOs and business experts think?

Find out what Inna Solomatina, HR director, Dynatech and other experts think here